all I want for christmas is a friend
by The Fluff Queen
Summary: Two moments between Matt and Rachel. Puckford friendship, hinted Berryford. My Christmas gift for Ash.


**Summary: **Two moments between Matt and Rachel.

**Disclaimers: **Unfortunately, not mine. If they were, Rachel would hook up with anyone but Finn.

**Spoilers: **Missing scenes to 'Special Education' and 'A Very Glee Christmas'.

**Author's Note: **This ship basically jumped at me out of nowhere. Matt seemed a nice boy and I wish he could be back – are you reading this, Murphy?

Remember that St. Berry and Puckleberry are my two one true pairings. This is me trying out of my bubble. This is my Christmas gift for Ash, my awesome friend, one of the best writers for various pairings and all around an inspiring person. Babe, you're the best, thank you for your friendship. I love you!

**all I want for Christmas is a friend**

**H**e sat between the crowd, trying hard not to flashback to last year as he anxiously waited for his former glee club to start their performance. _Weird how so many things can change in the course of a year_, the footballer mused thoughtfully, nodding slightly at Kurt who sat a few rows back with his new teammates, whispering back and forth with an older boy, the lead of his new glee club.

Not that Kurt was the only who had switched schools. He had transferred too, to a private high school on East Lima which had a better sports program and, thus, could ensure him a football or basketball scholarship. Also, it was closer to his new house and his father's new job.

But there were things in McKinley that he missed. Being able to hang out with Mike during the boring classes (it sucked to be the new kid on a class that was already tight), laugh at Brittany's antics and Puck's pranks, mock Finn's cluelessness.

Listen to Rachel sing during rehearsal.

He smiled wryly. _I think that's what I miss the most_. Rachel was an admittedly high-maintenance girl, but she was also a sweetheart. She did whatever it needed to help her teammates and was loyal to a fault. Also, she was the most talented out of the twelve of them and sneaky hot.

_Too bad she has such poor taste for boyfriends_, Matt thought shaking his head negatively. Finn, Puck and Jesse didn't deserve a girl like Rachel – Finn was too stupid, Puck too much of a manwhore and Jesse, too much of a jerk. Underneath all that bravado, Rachel had the most fragile self-esteem Matt had ever seen, and those three dudes had done nothing to help improve it.

(He had to hand it to St. Jerk though. His eyes never wandered from Rachel when they were together and he always put Rachel first – contrary to Finn, who put his precious reputation before his own girlfriend. Too bad dude had to be a backstabbing bastard. Even Puck had been a better boyfriend to Rachel than the Frankenteen).

Sighing as he noticed a delay on the performance, he rose from his seat to go to the bar area. He rubbed his neck nervously, trying to fight back the urge to sneak in backstage to talk to his friends, and walked to the bar, asking for a soda. Looking around, he smiled as he saw Kurt and Rachel talking like old friends. Kurt left Rachel after giving her a tight hug, and Matt decided, _what the hell?_, and tapped her gently on the shoulder, startling the now distracted girl. When she looked around (so quickly it was a surprise she didn't get whiplash) and saw him, he was shocked when she squealed and threw herself at him. "Oh my God, Matthew!" She breathed, hugging him tightly. "It's been so long!"

He chuckled and hugged her back. "Hey, Rach…" He mumbled, voice muffled against her hair, and stepped back after a moment, taking the time to drink her in. "Nice bangs", he said, flicking a finger gently against her fringe, and she beamed and blushed slightly. "How are you doing, doll?"

A bitter, self-deprecating chuckle escaped her lips. "Considering my circumstances, I'm doing as well as expected", she stated primly, but a curious look from him had her sighing and explaining everything: how she had earlier that year lied to Finn about losing her virginity to Jesse, and how Finn had lied about **not **sleeping with Santana. How she came clean about it with her now estranged boyfriend, but he never told her the truth about his own purity. How they were now counting Lauren Zizes in their lines because Kurt transferred to Dalton out of safety. How Mr. Schue refused to give her a solo this year, choosing Quinn and Santana over her.

(Yeah… He tended to agree with Coach Sylvester sometimes. That much hair product must have seeped into Schue's brain if he was foregoing Rachel and giving solos away to Satan and Celibacy Queen).

She looked she was about to burst in tears, looking down at the floor, and he sighed, put a finger under her chin and lifted it up so their eyes met. "Look… You guys have this under your belt already. I mean – sure, the old folks were sweet – don't think I didn't notice Puck crying", he smirked and she giggled.

"His nana is part of the Hipsters", Rachel explained with a fond smile, and he nodded, understanding dawning in his features.

"Now it makes more sense. Anyway. No way you guys are losing it. Besides, this gives you a right to demand a solo for Regionals", he reminded her with a smirk, and was rewarded when she immediately brightened up and smiled. Her phone rang and she took a step back, picking it up and sighing regrettably as she checked her texts.

"I have to go, Matt… They're prepping up in the green room", she said, and his heart leapt at the hesitant tone of her voice (he had to be stupid not to have a crush on the Berry. And he could be a lot of things, but stupid? Never one of them).

"Yeah… Listen, Rach, whenever you need to get away from everything, gimme a call, 'kay? My number's still the same – you have it, right?" She nodded and he smiled. "Cool. Go get them, diva", he pushed her gently towards backstage, and after seeing her walk away, returned to his seat, hiding his surprise as he recognized St. James leaning against the side wall, nodding at him as Matt slid into his row.

(He couldn't blame the guy for wanting to see Rachel. Girl was pretty unforgettable).

It took a week for Rachel to call. They were a day away from winter break in McKinley, but East Lima High had already let up, and he was home playing Xbox when his phone rang. Reaching out blindly to it, he frowned at the unknown number and took the call. " 'Lo?" He mumbled, scowling at the quiet sobbing. "Who is this?"

The voice was tiny on the other side of the line. "Matthew?"

He sat up straighter and paused his game, eyes wide in concern. "Rach? What's wrong, babe?" She was crying softly, and his worry was just growing, because, c'mon, it's Rachel, and she was crying, so what did you expect? He wasn't Puck, he could deal with a woman's tears – living with your grandma, your mom and three sisters does that to a guy – but he hated when it was Rachel's tears.

(Fuck off. He had a crush on the girl. So what?)

"Matt… Can… Can you come pick me up on the tree lot? I came with Finn to buy a Christmas tree for the glee choir room but he…" Her breath hitched and her voice cracked. "… He 'officially' broke up with me and left, and he was my ride home".

"Hold on, Rach. Frankenteen _left_ you behind in this shitty weather?" His temper flared in fury, because, fuck, that was no way to treat a girl, especially Rachel. Her broken little sob was confirmation enough, and he hastily threw on his jacket. "I'm on my way, babe, okay? Hang tight". He heard her sniffle and a croaky 'yes' leave her lips, and ended the call, telling his mother in passing where he was going. After closing the door behind him and sliding into his car, he dialed Puck's number.

"Yo", Puck mumbled, and Matt punched his wheel.

"Puckerman, you better kick Frankenteen's scrawny ass for me", he hissed furiously.

"Rutherford? What did he do this time?"

"He fucking left Rachel behind in that tree lot outskirt of town", he was shaking in his anger, and he quickly threw the car in reverse, trying his best to stay clearheaded because getting in a crash on his way to Rachel wouldn't do either of them any good.

"What the fuck? Are you fucking kidding, Matt?"

"I wish. She just called me, he 'officially' broke up with her and left her behind in this snow storm".

"That son of a bitch! I'll kill him! I'll fucking kill him!" Matt could hear a door slam, and Puck cursing in Spanish (a sure sign of how pissed he was – just like Santana, whenever he was too pissed he began swearing in Spanish – apparently swearing in English wasn't enough for those two crazy kids).

"Kay, Puck, I'm here, talk to you later". He soon caught sight of Rachel, in all her red wool coat and white hat, lips pale and eyes puffy from crying. Parking next to her, he opened the car door and, once she was in, pulled her close, rubbing his hand open and down her arm to warm her up. She shivered violently against him, clutching at his Letterman jacket. "Hey, babe, it's okay, I'm here…" He whispered.

"It hurts, Matt", she whispered brokenly, voice thick with renewed tears, and he pulled her tighter against him, his hands running comfortingly up and down her back.

"I know, babe, but it's going to be fine, okay? Finn's a stupid ass".

She giggled and swatted his chest, mumbling his name in a reproachful way. He chuckled. "Hey, Rach, harsh but true. He _is _stupid. But hey, new year, new life, right? Just move on from him already, you deserve better, okay?" Matt whispered and pressed a quick kiss to her hair. "Better?" He asked quietly, smiling as she nodded uncertainly.

The drive to the Berry residence was made in silence; Matt had made no move to turn on his stereo and Rachel hadn't asked. However, the silence was comfortable, Matt's arm resting over Rachel's shoulder, and every now and then she leant against him. She fit quite perfectly against his body, if Matt could say so himself (and he did, fuck you very much).

Once they parked in front of her house, Matt gunned down the ignition and turned to look at him. Despite the dried tear tracks on her cheeks, the pale lips and the red-rimmed, puffed eyes, Rachel looked beautiful underneath the indirect low light of the street. She smiled softly at him and leaned in to kiss his cheek, biting her lower lip slightly.

"I… I don't know if you celebrate Christmas, but I have a little gift for you inside. Do you…" She took a deep breath (her nervousness was adorable, really) and smiled up at him. "Maybe you want to come in and… hang out a little?"

He smiled at her and nodded, getting out of the truck and helping her out, before following into the quiet house. Rachel led Matt into the living room and excused herself, quickly returning with a rectangular, rather large package, nicely wrapped with black paper, peppered with gold stars, that she passed to him with a shy smile.

"You didn't have to, Rach", he said as he slowly tore into the paper, and she made a dismissive gesture with her hand.

"I wanted to", the brunette said with a smile, biting her lower lip anxiously as he opened the box and unraveled the gift inside – a jersey with his former number, all signed by his former teammates, teachers and other friends. "Did you like it?" She asked nervously as he sat there, staring at the jersey in stunned silence.

"Did I like it? I loved it, Rachel, it was… God, it's awesome. Thank you", he pulled her close, pressing a kiss to her temple. "Now I feel bad I don't have anything for you", he admitted, and she shook her head negatively.

"No need. You did a lot for me today". She quieted for a moment then added, "Maybe you wanna hang out? See a movie?"

He was about to accept, when his phone chirped with an incoming text, and he sighed as he read it – it was his mother demanding him to come home because she had been called to cover for a sick friend and someone needed to look over his younger sister. "Raincheck? Mom needs to go work".

Her face fell for a moment, but then she nodded, and accompanied him outside, hugging him tightly once Matt was outside her door. "Thank you for tonight, Matthew", she whispered, pressing a kiss to his jaw. He smiled against her hair and took a deep breath.

"Rach… You wanna hang out tomorrow? Maybe… Grab a movie then dinner?"

Rachel's eyes widened in shock, and she stammered nervously, "Like… Like a date?" She asked, and he shrugged.

"It can be a date… if you want it to be". He smiled expectantly at her. "So… You wanna? Hang out tomorrow, I mean".

She seemed to ponder for a moment, then smiled and nodded. "I'd like that, yes. Very much, actually", she stepped forward and hugged him again. "Merry Christmas, Matthew".

He squeezed her a little tighter, and whispered, "Merry Christmas, Rach".


End file.
